Attorneys in Canada want the immigration officials and the government more sensitive towards people with medical conditions. The attorneys expressed their views after one of them successfully defended an HIV-positive Chinese man’s appeal to stay in the country.

Recently, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada rejected permanent residency application of a 62-year old Chinese man and his wife because he has HIV, so the country won’t be able to handle his medical costs. It is the only reason for rejecting his application. The Federal Court called for a special immigration hearing for the case. Justice Shirzad Ahmed of the Federal Court called for the new hearing. The couple’s daughter, who is a Canadian citizen and lives in Ottawa, had sponsored her parents’ permanent residency in 2009. Her father’s illness was found out during the medical examination.

His daughter said that she would pay for her father’s anti-retroviral drugs and he should be granted permanent residency on the humanitarian basis and out of compassion. Everything was going smoothly until an immigration official rejected the application again in May 2014. The officials ask his daughter to show them proof of CAD 15,000 as ordered by the province of Alberta. They thought that after settling in the country, the man will ask the government to cover his medical bills, which will be too big to handle for them.

Federal Court hearing

Justice Ahmed defended the family and called decision by immigration officials unreasonable. Despite the family showing ability and willingness to pay the bills, the government body was firm in its decision. They should show empathy while dealing with such cases. The body shouldn’t have played morality police when all they had to do was grant the residency. The government has taught the officials to enforce humanitarian and compassionate jurisdiction, and they shouldn’t stop doing that.